


Gotham Kilos

by DarthRuki



Category: Joker (2019)
Genre: Angst, Crush, Emo, Friendship, Gen, One-Sided Attraction, One-Sided Love, One-Sided Relationship, Other, age gap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2020-12-27 14:08:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21120056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarthRuki/pseuds/DarthRuki
Summary: A journey of a damaged teenager who met the killer with the clown face on the subway.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Notes: I was inspired to write this after watching the 2019 Joker film. The main factors are looping Lana Del Rey’s ‘Florida Kilos’ and recently watching Leon the Professional film. I was wondering what would happen if Arthur had a sidekick or a best friend who understood him fully. I intend to keep it as a mini-series unless I have more ideas in my head. I modified the movie sequence just to fit my OC to interact more with Arthur. I hope that Arthur does not appear to be OOC. But in all honesty, the title really has nothing much to do with the story. I just thought it sounded cool. Haha. I DO NOT own DC. This is solely for entertainment purposes.

The sound of the train wheels rumbled, the coach shaking sideways, going over the old train tracks.

Arthur Fleck, still clad in his clown attire and face paint, sat alone, thinking about the past hour where he got fired over the phone due to his mistake at the paediatrics ward, whereby the pistol jumped out of his pocket and fell to the ground, making an awkward loud metallic sound when it kissed the floor.

The past few days for Arthur was nothing but a disaster.

Back to where he currently was, there was a teenager seated opposite him, clad in an oversized red plaid flannel shirt over her faded Metallica band t-shirt, denim shorts with black tights, and a pair of replica Dr Martens boots. On her messy long brown hair was her old, shabby black beanie.

Arthur looked up from the ground to lock eyes with the teenager opposite him.

Her hazel eyes showed anger and sadness. Her makeup smudged, the black mascara and eye liner trailing down her cheeks.

The green haired clown attempted to make her smile by cracking a joke but his attention was drawn to the three noisy drunken businessmen at the end of the coach.

One of them had bag of fries in his hands.

He beckoned to the lady sitting opposite him, “Oi, do you want some fries? These are really good!”

The lone lady, who was reading her book opposite the three drunken men, looked up from her book and politely replied, “No, thank you,” and resumed reading her book.

One of the men went over to her and said, “C’mon, he was being nice! Give him a break!”

The lady ignored him.

However, the man with the bag of fries was slightly irritated and started throwing some fries at the lone lady.

The three of them cackled.

The lone lady stood up and walked over to the other end of the coach.

Arthur looked at the four of them and started laughing.

As she walked away, one of them yelled at her, “Oi, come back here! Bitch!”

Instead, the lady sprinted to the end of the coach, exiting it.

It was only the four men and the teenage girl left.

Arthur could not contain his laughter and kept laughing, causing the teenager opposite him to startle and stare at him with eyes wide open.

The man with the bag of fries raised his voice at Arthur, “What’s so funny, ya clown?”

Arthur could not control himself and cackled away.

“I’m so sorry, don’t mind me,” he replied in between his laughter.

The three men staggered over to Arthur.

“There’s nothing funny about that, funny man,” one of them said.

Arthur was still in his fits of giggle, drawing out his medical card.

“I’m sorry about that,” he said.

The man with the bag of fries snatched it from him, read it and tossed it to the ground.

With a blink of an eye, he started punching Arthur in the face, causing Arthur to fall to the ground.

His drunken colleagues joined in by kicking Arthur, who was writhing on the ground, curling into a ball as a form of defense.

The teenager, who witnessed the scene, mustered her courage and loudly said, “Stop it, you three! Stop hurting him!”

The three men immediately turned to look at the teenager who was commanding them to stop their actions.

“Mind your own business, ya slut!” one of them said.

The teenager tried to back away from the three of them but one of them struck her across the face until she fell to the ground with a loud THUD!

Arthur, who was helpless on the ground, watching the whole scene, felt bad for the teenager who was standing up to him being struck in the face by a drunken businessman.

He got to his feet, walked over to the three men and said, “Pick someone your own size!”

The three of them turned their attention to Arthur and using all of his might, he punched one of them in the face, only to be kicked back in the abdomen, causing him to fall back down to the ground.

As of the teenager who was slowly getting back on her feet, she watched the scene in horror, feeling helpless that she was unable to help the man in the clown attire.

The three men walked away from Arthur, laughing as they returned their attention to the teenager.

“What are you looking at?” one of them spat at her, marching towards her but at the sound of a faint click, there was a gunshot to the back of his head, causing the man to stop halfway and collapse a meter away from the teenager.

The teenager screamed as she clambered backward and fell back on the ground, shocked at a murder scene that just happened in front of her.

She looked up from the dead man in front of her to see the man in the clown attire holding a loaded pistol in his hand, aiming at the other two men.

The teenager quickly got up and together with the other two men, they ran to the end of the coach, escaping from the clown with a gun in his hand.

The three of them hurried to the door, the teenager sliding it open and entered the next coach, running as fast as she could.

She could feel her heart beating fast, as if it was about to jump out of her chest.

As she was about to reach the end of the coach, she heard another gunshot and she screamed in fear, afraid that she would be his next target.

The train was slowing down, indicating that it was about to reach a station soon.

The teenager got ready to get out, praying and hoping that she would be able to get off the train safely and head to a safer place before planning an alternate trip back to her house.

As the train stopped to a halt, the doors opened and she ran out, not wanting to look back.

Meanwhile, Arthur was planning the right timing to gun down the third businessman.

He stood quietly, head popping out of the coach, waiting for his last victim.

At the next coach, the third businessman ran out of the coach as fast as he could, racing for the stairs but Arthur predicted his movement and chased the man, raising his pistol and shooting the third businessman who was running up the stairs.

He immediately collapsed on the stairs.

The teenager looked back and noticed the dead man on the stairs.

The look of horror flooded her face and she started crying as she ran up the stairs with all her might but Arthur was chasing her, running up the stairs.

The teenager was running up the stairs as fast as she could but she lost her step and fell forward and collapsed on the stairs.

Tears trickled down her face as she tried to lift her tired body up but she failed to do so.

Arthur ran to her side, the pistol still in his hand.

The teenager cried as she tried to tolerate the pain accumulating in her head and spreading to her entire fatigued body.

And before she knew it, she passed out on the stairs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 up. I'll post Chapter 3 within this week after proofreading for errors.

The next day, the teenager woke up with a massive head ache, blinking her eyes, trying to adjust to her surroundings.

She massaged her temples as she tried to sit up but she was in so much pain that she decided to just continue lying down on the couch.

When her eyes were wide opened, she scanned her surroundings and realised that she was not in her house.

_Where am I?_ she thought.

She could hear the record player playing Frank Sinatra’s music.

The teenager forced herself to sit up as she looked around, noticing the television in front of her, a one-seater couch next to it and she could smell the scent of fried bacon and eggs coming from the kitchen.

“Shit, where am I?” she muttered under her breath, looking at her body, hoping that she was not taken advantage of when she was sleeping.

Her clothes were as they were before she passed out on the steps.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Arthur was preparing breakfast for his mother, the teenager and for himself.

The man was transferring the eggs onto the three plates from the frying pan, ensuring that he was able to split the amount equally on all three plates.

He walked out of the kitchen with a plate on his hand, walking pass the teenager, who was eyeing his every movement with full of suspicion.

“Good morning,” Arthur said, with a small grin.

Despite washing off his clown makeup the night before, some of the white paint residue was still on his face.

The teenager eyed him cautiously, trying to recall what happened prior to passing out.

Arthur went inside Penny’s bedroom, crept to the bedside table and placed the dish quietly, not wanting to wake his mother up.

He closed the door quietly, only leaving a soft click when the door met the frame.

As he walked back to the living room, he said, “How are you feeling?”

The teenage girl stared at him, her heart beating fast, recognizing his facial features and she immediately recalled that Arthur was the murderer on the subway the night before.

The girl gasped as she was rooted to the couch.

She wanted to move away but she was petrified when his eyes met hers.

However, Arthur ignored her obvious expression of fear and walked toward her.

The teenager gulped as he bent over, whispering to her ear, “Thanks for standing up for me.”

She shivered down her spine, fearing that this man would shoot her when he pleased.

The teenager had flashbacks about the gunshots the night before and she bit her lower lip.

Arthur grinned and placed his index finger to his lips, indicating that he wanted her to keep silent.

“I made breakfast for all of us and I think you should eat. It’s past ten in the morning,” Arthur said as he walked off to the kitchen.

However, the teenager was still rooted to the couch.

Arthur turned around and said, “Come on, have some breakfast to put a smile on that pretty face.”

The teenager decided to follow his instruction despite fearing for her life if Arthur decided to poison her with his cooking.

She got off the couch slowly and made her way to the kitchen.

Arthur was pouring orange juice from the carton into two clear glasses on the small wooden table that already had two plates of breakfast.

“Sit,” he insisted, with a grin on his face.

The girl sat on the creaking stool, unable to meet his eyes.

In a hospitable manner, he pushed a plate to the girl and passed the cutlery as well.

Arthur picked up a butter knife and scooped some butter from a rectangular box of butter and spread it on his toast and bringing it to his mouth for a quick bite.

The girl picked up the fork and knife with her respective hands and just stared at her meal, contemplating if she should eat it or not.

She was hungry but at the same time, she was worried if she would be poisoned.

“If you are worried, I’ll prove it to you,” Arthur said, understanding her body language.

Arthur stretched his arms over to her plate and sliced the eggs and bacon and served himself, eating the food casually.

He smiled, indicating that he did not intend to poison her.

The teenager nodded and used her cutlery to slice the bacon and eating it cautiously. 

“What’s your name?” Arthur asked, his green eyes fixated on the girl as if it was penetrating her soul.

The teenager hesitated for a moment, but she finally answered in a timid tone, “Aria.”

Arthur chuckled to himself.

“What a coincidence to have a name starting with the same alphabet. I’m Arthur.”

In a normal setting, Aria would have replied with “It’s nice to meet you” but due to the circumstance that happened the night before, she was unsure of how to reply to his statement.

Instead, she just nodded her head, still trying to avoid his gaze.

“I suppose due to the time right now, you’d have to skip school, Aria,” Arthur said, monotonously.

Aria wanted to correct Arthur that she had already graduated from high school but decided to keep her profile low around the murderer.

“Do you work as a clown part-time?” Aria asked, wanting to change the subject.

Arthur burst out laughing, causing Aria to be startled.

He cackled for a few seconds, then stopped to answer her question, “I like to put a smile on faces but however, life isn’t all that fair.”

Aria could not understand his statement but she simply nodded her head.

In a lower and deeper tone, Arthur said, “But thank you again, for standing up for me last night.”

Aria could feel her stomach churn with uneasiness, recalling how Arthur murdered the three businessmen the night before.

“Thanks for the breakfast,” Aria said, her voice shaky.

“People these days are rude and they don’t give a fuck at all about you,” Arthur said as he lit up a cigarette.

Aria drank the orange juice.

“Do you want one?” Arthur offered her a stick, despite his gut feeling telling him that she was underage.

Aria had been a smoker since she was fifteen and she took a stick from the box held out to her.

She placed the stick on her lip and Arthur lit it up for her.

“Thanks,” Aria said as she took a drag of her cigarette.

“You’re welcome,” Arthur said as he puffed out.

Silence fell on them for another hour.

Aria wanted to go home but she was hesitant to meet her abusive uncle. At the same time, she was afraid of staying longer at Arthur’s apartment. She witnessed the murder and she knew that if she were to leave, Arthur would track her down and kill her just so that she would not report to the cops.

However, she felt grateful that Arthur chose not to violate her when she was asleep on his couch.

“Do you have your family to return to?” Arthur asked, as if reading her mind.

Aria shook her head.

“Happy!” a croaky voice called from one of the bedrooms.

It was Penny Fleck.

“I’m coming, mother!” Arthur said and he left Aria alone on the living room couch.

Arthur entered Penny’s bedroom.

“Is everything alright?” he asked as he sat next to Penny on the bed.

“I need a shower,” Penny said as she looked at him, her old gray eyes showing signs of fatigue.

“I have a friend sitting at the living room, mother. Her name’s Aria,” Arthur said, not wanting his mother to freak out at the sight of Aria in the living room.

“Okay, Happy,” Penny said with a weak smile.

Aria felt awkward the whole time when she assisted Arthur to bathe Penny in the bathroom. But she decided to be polite about it because he did stand for her when the three businessmen assaulted her and he made her breakfast and provided temporary shelter for the night after she passed out.

“It was nice meeting you, Aria,” Penny said as she hugged Aria.

“I hope to see you soon. Please do drop by. Arthur seems really happy,” she added.

Aria thought hard of how to reply to Penny.

“Do take care, Penny,” Aria said with a weak smile.

Deep down, Aria had a feeling that it was not her last time seeing Penny and Arthur.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Lana Del Rey gif is just random. I just insert it for fun.

“I believe that you will be smart enough to shut your lips about what happened last night, won’t you, Aria?” Arthur asked as he took a drag of his cigarette.

The pair was smoking cigarettes in a lonely alley not far from Arthur’s apartment.

Aria was truly afraid this time.

Arthur took out the same pistol from the pocket of his pants as a form of warning.

Aria gave up and she teared up.

The man was escorting her back home and there was no way she could run away from him.

“I have nothing to lose. My uncle had been abusing me since I was a child and I don’t really care if you do want to murder me. As of last night, I hated those guys and I couldn’t bear to watch them taunt you. What they did was unfair but I didn’t think you’d pull the trigger on them. I couldn’t care less about my life and I have been cutting myself and I’d rather die than keep living,” Aria said as tears trickled down her cheeks.

Arthur watched her, analysing Aria’s words.

He could tell that she was being honest and he felt like he could trust her although he was rather cautious of her.

“I’ve been through hell and I think that even if you pull the trigger on me, I’d be happier,” Aria sobbed as she took a drag of her cigarette.

Wispy white clouds escaped her mouth as she puffed out her cigarette, tears flowing down her red cheeks.

Arthur grinned, then laughed out loud for a few seconds, leaving the girl dazed at his reaction.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Arthur said as he tossed the cigarette aside, not caring about where it would land on.

Instead of taking the train back to Aria’s house, the duo decided that it was safer to take the bus to avoid Arthur being recognised due to the murder.

Aria disliked the idea because the train was the quickest but then she was aware that they had to keep Arthur’s profile low.

The pair kept silent throughout the bus ride and when they were walking back to Aria’s house.

“I think it’s best if you waited outside until I give the signal that it’s fine for you to come in. My uncle might be drunk and he doesn’t like visitors in general,” Aria said as she was about to stop in front of her house.

Arthur smirked as he observed Aria’s house.

It was a simple single-storey house with a small scale front lawn. The grass was not cut evenly and there were lawn gnomes randomly sprawled across the lawn, half buried by the uneven long grass. It was run-down and untidy.

However in Arthur’s eyes, Aria’s house was better than his.

“I never said anything about wanting to step inside your house.”

Aria wanted to reply with a sarcastic statement but she decided not to provoke Arthur.

Instead, she said, “Well, this is my house.”

Feeling awkward but wanting to be polite, she added, “Feel free to drop by whenever you want to.”

Arthur waited at the stairs heading to the porch as Aria rushed up the stairs, unlocked the door and disappeared behind it.

The man fished his box of cigarettes from the pocket of his pants, took out a cigarette, lit it and took a drag of it.

_Not too shabby, I suppose?_ Arthur thought, observing Aria’s house again.

Within seconds, he heard a man yelling at Aria, which Arthur presumed that it was her uncle.

A minute later and Aria popped her head out.

She was hesitant to invite Arthur in but she felt that she should repay his kindness by inviting him inside to serve him some refreshments.

“He’s just a bit fucked at the moment but don’t mind him,” Aria said.

Arthur grinned as he puffed out.

“So?”

Aria took a deep breath and said, “You can wait in the living room while I shower. Feel free to take anything from the fridge but please don’t touch the whisky.”

Arthur cocked his head and gave her a cheeky grin.

“That’s sweet of you, Aria.”

Aria could feel her cheeks reddened.

“That’s the best I could do after how you took care of me in your apartment.”

_This is fucked up. I’m inviting a murderer to my house_, Aria thought, unsure of what to feel at this point.

Arthur followed the teenager inside her house, cigarette still in his hand, not bothered to ask Aria if he was allowed to smoke inside her house.

However to his advantage, both Aria and her uncle smoked cigarettes. Hence, the house smelled like cigarettes.

Arthur walked over to the kitchen, observing the state of messiness and the pile of dirty dishes in the sink.

He stood in front of the refrigerator and rummaged the contents.

Meanwhile, Aria was in her bedroom, quickly stripping off her clothes to have a quick shower in the adjoining bathroom.

It was the quickest shower Aria had in history due to her anxiety of having a murderer in her house.

Fifteen minutes later and Aria exited her bedroom.

Arthur watched Aria from the sofa, a can of beer in his hand.

His eyes were fixated on her figure.

Aria was donned in a washed out oversized Black Sabbath t-shirt over her denim micro shorts, ripped black tights, a plain navy blue varsity jacket, and a pair of second hand Dr Martens maroon boots. She had her favourite beanie on.

Arthur liked the way she dressed up.

“So, where are we heading to?” Aria said as she came back to Arthur with a piece of crumpled note in her hand.

Arthur smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've already completed the whole series. I just need to proofread, edit the chapters & I'll try to upload them on a daily basis unless I'm busy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here it is, Chapter 4! Enjoy the story and also the Arthur gif. Hahaha.

A few days passed and Arthur had been calling up Aria’s house phone, which made Aria’s uncle irritated but she managed to keep the situation under control.

Aria was not fond of the idea of being forced to be Arthur’s friend but a part of her felt sympathetic of Arthur after he told her about the unfortunate events that occurred prior to meeting her. He also did explain to her about his mental condition and his therapy sessions.

The teenager could feel his pain but she felt that it was unnecessary for Arthur to gun down the three drunken businessmen.

However, there were times when she felt like Arthur was like an older brother to her due to his understanding of her situation and he also understood her depression and anxiety.

As of Arthur, he understood Aria’s pain based on her life stories and he wanted her as a friend but he was still skeptical about her in certain aspects. He was wondering if she would one day turn him in to the police officers.

Besides that, Arthur mustered his courage to invite his crush, Sophie Dumond to attend his standup comedy session. He was nervous but he decided to invite her.

The night came and Arthur was dressed in his favourite white shirt, brown vest, brown pants and brown shoes.

He even brought his notebook along with him as reference.

Aria rushed to the venue immediately after her shift at the vintage bookstore ended.

As she took a seat at an empty table, she scanned the crowd, looking for any sight of Arthur.

Meanwhile, Arthur’s neighbour and crush, Sophie Dumond was two tables away from Aria.

Sophie was looking forward to Arthur’s performance.

Finally, after the MC introduced Arthur, he was on stage.

The crowd stared at Arthur as he introduced himself again.

As he was about to tell the joke, he started giggling, which eventually broke into a laughter.

Aria was unsure of how to react to the situation.

Arthur begun his joke again but he laughed midway for a few seconds, making the crowd feeling uneasy.

He took a deep breath and with more confidence, he told his joke, without being interrupted by his laughter.

When he ended his joke, the crowd forced themselves to laugh and feeling awkward, Aria faked a laugh.

Sophie laughed along, wanting to be polite.

An hour later and Arthur was with the two ladies.

“That was great!” Aria lied, not wanting to disappoint a man who would breakout into his insanity of wanting to murder her.

“That was a good performance,” Sophie said, smiling weakly.

Arthur giggled.

“I’m glad you liked it.”

“This is Aria, a friend I met recently. She’s a nice girl,” Arthur said, introducing Aria to Sophie.

Aria and Sophie shook hands.

“I’m Sophie, we live in the same apartment,” the lady said.

Arthur was confident of asking Sophie out on a date because Aria was there and she decided to help him out if he had problems asking Sophie out.

However, as if Sophie could read Arthur’s mind, Sophie said, “It was a lovely evening but I have to check on my little girl at my cousin’s place. I promised that I would pick her up immediately after the show.”

Arthur’s face grew slightly darker at Sophie’s statement.

“Oh, that’s a shame. I was wanting to ask you out on a date tonight,” Arthur said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

As of Aria, she felt slightly awkward at the situation.

“Oh,” Sophie said, putting on a neutral expression.

“Perhaps next time?” Arthur said, trying to lighten up the situation, putting some hope.

Sophie bit her lower lip.

“I’ll let you know,” she said with a smile.

With that, she picked up her hand bag and walked off.

“Good night!”

Aria waved at Sophie and the duo stared at Sophie until she was out of sight.

“Fuck,” Arthur cursed under his breath, stood up immediately and headed to the back entrance, slowly followed by Aria.

Aggressively, Arthur pushed the back door as he walked out, Aria being extra cautious, not wanting the door to violently slam back at her face.

“Wait, Arthur!” Aria said as she ran up to Arthur.

The brown haired man lit up a cigarette, smoked it and started kicking the huge dustbin closeby.

The dustbin rattled, a few rubbish bags falling out of the overloaded trashcan.

“Stop it, Arthur!” Aria said, trying to calm him down, not wanting people to pay attention to Arthur’s tantrum.

Aria placed a hand on his shoulder and he violently turned around, causing Aria to be shocked.

“What is it?!” he spat at her.

“Please, people are going to notice us. Besides, it’s not like she’s rejecting you,” Aria said, trying to put some sense into Arthur’s mind.

“You know what,” Arthur said as he held his cigarette, “all I wanted was to make people happy. To put smiles on their faces. That’s all that matters. But no, I bet that half of the audience didn’t even get the joke.”

Aria could feel goosebumps all over her body, feeling guilty that she faked her laughter.

Silence fell on them.

“Hey, if you want a date so much on a Friday night like this, I can accompany you as a friend, if you’d like,” Aria said, offering a solution.

Arthur was skeptical.

He burst out laughing.

“And why would you even care about me?”

Aria took a step closer to Arthur.

“You saved me from those three drunken men that night. I don’t know what other things they would have done to me if you didn’t stop them. I’m thankful that you stopped them from hurting me.”

Arthur nodded his head.

“But don’t you have work tomorrow?”

Aria replied, “Afternoon shift. I’m all good. I mean, I’m here for you, as a friend, if you want me to.”

Minutes later and the duo were in a diner, ordering milkshakes and fries. Arthur’s mood seemed to be better and he was telling Aria a few jokes, which this time, Aria found them funny and she laughed along. However, Arthur was still upset that Sophie seemed uninterested to go out on a date with him but nevertheless, he was enjoying Aria’s company.

_I wonder why I volunteer to hang around a murderer_, Aria thought, feeling worried if they would be caught by the cops.

“You have very interesting stories, Arthur,” Aria said, observing Arthur’s relaxed body language.

Arthur was feeling happy that he had a so-called friend to confide in.

_She seems alright as a friend, so far_, Arthur thought.

Aria reached out her hand and rested on Arthur’s hand.

“Hey, if you ever feel down, you can always talk to me, alright?” Aria said.

Arthur was surprised at Aria’s gesture but he felt warm on the inside.

“Thanks,” he said as he placed another hand on top of hers.

The duo then walked down the streets, heading to the bus stop, wanting to send Aria back home. However as they passed by a newsstand, Arthur noticed a sign with a drawing of a clown with the word “Wanted”. He immediately recognised that it was him they were after.

“Arthur!” Aria said as Arthur snapped out of his thoughts.

The man looked at her, slightly confused.

“Let’s go,” she said, as she dragged him to cross the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5 will be uploaded tomorrow morning or so(based on my location).


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this chapter, it's more about Arthur's life as based on the movie. I might have gotten some references wrong(or forgotten) as I watched this movie when it was first released.

Aria had been busy working full-day shifts, therefore, Arthur was left alone at home most of the time.

Arthur noticed that Penny had been writing letters to Thomas Wayne.

It was a gloomy afternoon and Arthur was lounging on the couch, smoking cigarettes while watching cartoons on the television.

He noticed a new letter on the coffee table.

Curiosity got the best of Arthur and he picked it up, opened the envelope and fished out a folded A5 paper.

Arthur read the contents and felt anger burning up in him. He felt deceived. He needed explanation from Penny regarding the contents of the letter.

Because of that, he charged to Penny’s bedroom and yelled at her, causing the timid old lady to be frightened as he followed her everywhere in the house until she decided to lock herself in the bathroom.

“Stop it, Happy! You’re scaring me!” her timid voice was heard as Arthur banged the bathroom door from the outside.

“What’s the meaning of this, mother?” Arthur yelled.

However, there was no response. 

“You know what, I hate you for hiding the truth from me!” Arthur yelled again as he banged his fist against the bathroom door for the last time.

The next day, Arthur decided to pay a visit at the Wayne Manor, hoping to meet Thomas but instead, he managed to speak to Thomas’ son, Bruce but it was cut short after Alfred Pennyworth stepped in and they had a scuffle.

Meanwhile, Gotham City darkened due to the riot and chaos but Arthur seemed pleased about it. He felt like the riot had a valid reason.

However, Arthur was smart enough to sneak in to a public theatre where he knew that Thomas Wayne would attend. The brave man followed Thomas to the Men’s and confronted Thomas about him being Thomas’ illegitimate child. But things got sour and apparently it was Penny who was disillusioned about Thomas being Arthur’s father. Arthur tried to convince Thomas but he got punched in the face instead.

Not wanting to give up about the truth, Arthur made his way to Arkham State Hospital to get ahold of Penny’s file.

“Hello, good afternoon,” Arthur said with a smile at the counter.

“Hello, afternoon, how may I assist you?” said the administrator.

“I’d like to have Penny Fleck’s file, please. I’m her son, Arthur,” he said.

The administrator nodded his head.

“When was she hospitalised here?” he asked.

Arthur bit his lower lip.

“It was a long time ago, I can't really remember when,” he replied.

“This is going to take awhile as the old files are in a separate department. I’ll be back as soon as possible,” the administrator said and he disappeared behind the shelves.

Minutes later and the administrator appeared again with a thick file in his hands. He went through the file, which had stacks of old papers.

“You said you were her son?” the administrator said.

“Yup,” Arthur replied.

However, the administrator closed the file.

“I’m sorry sir but you need her signature in order to release this file.”

Arthur was feeling agitated. He came all the way for the file and he was not going to bring Penny to this place just so that he could get ahold of the file.

Feeling rage burning up in him, Arthur lashed out at the administrator, his hands holding onto the file. The two men were fighting to not let go of the file. Arthur’s eyes burned with anger and with all of his might, he yanked the file away from the administrator and began running down the hallway.

“Hey, you can’t do that!” the administrator yelled at him.

Minutes later and the staff were running around in chaos, looking for Arthur but he managed to hide himself in the stairwell.

Feeling impatient, Arthur decided to open up Penny’s file there and then. Arthur was shocked to know the truth. Apparently, Penny adopted Arthur when he was a baby. However when he was growing up, Penny failed as a parent because her then abusive boyfriend abused them both. Arthur had problems recalling his childhood. It was clouded. And there was a note in the file, stating that Penny alleged that Thomas used his influence to fabricate the adoption and committed her to the asylum to keep their affair hidden.

Arthur laughed and cried simultaneously as he read the file. He was speechless but at the same time, he felt liberated knowing the truth about his life.

That day itself, he called up Aria and fortunate for him, she was at home to pick up the phone call. Arthur seemed distressed on the phone, urging Aria that he needed to meet her at her house. He had no one else to talk to but Aria. He trusted her and he needed her the most at the moment. Aria was hesitant to let Arthur in especially that her uncle was passed out drunken in the house but however, she felt that because it was an urgent matter, she would let him in.

Without wasting any moment, Arthur made his way over to Aria’s house with Penny’s file.

“I can’t believe she’d do this to me!” Arthur said as he paced back and forth in Aria’s bedroom.

Aria listened to Arthur’s rants while she was reading Penny’s file. She was speechless.

“I’m so sorry about that, Arthur,” Aria said, unable to aid him in this situation. Aria liked Penny but she was surprised when reading the file.

Arthur burst out laughing, causing Aria to be worried if her uncle might wake up from his nap and yell at them.

When Arthur quiet down, Aria curiously asked, “How did you meet Thomas?”

Arthur grinned like never before. It was a different grin. It had an evil vibe to it, which frightened Aria. However, Aria decided to put on neutral expression.

“It was easy. I had my way. But that fucker punched me in the face until I fell to the ground. People just like to push me around! Don’t you see how fucked up my life is, Aria? It’s just tragedy while all I try to do is to make everyone smile,” Arthur ranted.

Aria nodded her head. There was nothing much she could say.

“I know that you have your fair share of pain as well, but baby, you have no idea the shit I have gone through since I was a child. Hell, I can’t even remember that I was abused as a kid,” Arthur continued his rant.

She stood up and placed a hand on Arthur’s shoulder.

“I’m glad that you opened up everything to me. I think it makes you feel better, don’t you think so?”

However, Arthur spat at her, “You think? All I ever have are negative thoughts! You, as a teenager with depression and anxiety would know better that there will be a point where it will be all too much and you’ll just snap!”

Aria took a step back and watched her supposedly friend descend to madness as he burst out loud laughing.

_I hope that Sophie would take him out on a date to calm him down_, Aria thought, as she watched the man laughed like a maniac.

As Arthur laughed, he flashed her a slight sinister grin that he never knew that he was capable of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be up tomorrow.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said in the 1st chapter, I did modify a bit of the movie scenes to suit this fanfiction.

A few days later, Penny was admitted in the hospital due to stroke. Arthur was devastated and on top of that, he had not heard anything from Sophie.

Fortunately, Aria was there for him. She lend her ears to him when he needed it the most.

“I’m sorry about that,” Aria said, who was seated next to Arthur on the visitor’s bench next to Penny’s bed.

The teenager walked over to Penny’s bed and placed a hand on Penny’s hand.

“You’re a tough lady, Penny,” Aria said, looking at the elderly woman for a minute, before heading back to the bench.

“Thanks for being with me right now, when I needed it the most,” Arthur said as he placed his head on Aria’s shoulder.

Aria was not used to such intimacy with a man for quite awhile ever since she broke up with her ex-boyfriend three years ago.

She felt awkward but acted as if nothing happened.

“It’s going to be alright, Arthur,” Aria said.

_She smells good_, Arthur thought, stealing a sniff from Aria’s neck when she was eyeing Penny.

“I’m going out for fresh air and some smokes,” Arthur said, getting up from the seat.

Aria nodded her head.

“I’ll watch Penny.”

Arthur made his way out, feeling overwhelmed with the current situation he was in. He lost his job, murdered three drunken businessmen, did not get a date invitation from Sophie, and now his mother was hospitalised.

The stressed out man sat on a bench and lit up a cigarette.

Moments later, two detectives approached him. Arthur kept his calm while answering their questions. Apparently, news broke out about him murdering the three businessmen. Arthur was vexed answering their questions, hoping that the two men would leave him alone soon enough. Finally, he managed to get away by using Penny as an excuse to get away from the two men.

“Aria!” Arthur exclaimed, causing Aria to be startled from her thoughts.

“You alright?” Aria asked, observing Arthur’s discomfort gestures.

Arthur sat next to her and whispered, “Two men approached me and asked me about the subway incident. You have to be alert from now on.”

Aria nodded her head, indicating that she understood what Arthur just told her.

Deep in her thoughts, she was worried about Arthur’s mental health as he had been off his medications ever since the welfare stopped sponsoring medications for the public.

“Are you freaking out?” Arthur asked, his green eyes penetrating Aria’s hazel eyes, his hand on her shoulder, firmly.

“No, I just want us to be safe. I don’t want you to get hurt,” Aria said, her tone of voice conveying concern for Arthur.

However, the two friends were distracted by the television sound. The both of them paid attention to the television set. Apparently, it was the Murray Franklin Show. Murray was talking about a comedian and little did they know that it was about Arthur’s recent performance.

Suddenly, a footage of Arthur’s performance was played. Aria’s jaw dropped in shock. Meanwhile, Arthur was grinning to himself. He knew what was going on and he was having mixed feelings about the footage being showed live in that manner.

The footage ended and switched to Murray reacting to the entire footage.

“That was unexpected,” Aria said, looking at Arthur.

“Hey, I’m on tv,” Arthur said, grinning a little, a slight devilish grin that Aria began to notice that he had lately.

“You’ve got some recognition,”

“It’s obvious, honey,”

“How do you feel about it?”

“Mixed feelings, to be honest,”

“I get what you meant.”

Silence fell on them as Arthur placed both of his hands inside the pockets of his pants, circling around the room, various thoughts flooding his chaotic mind. He loved the attention but he disliked the way it was being exhibited.

Aria watched the struggling man pacing back and forth, unsure of what to say in the present moment for she feared that the wrong statement would trigger his anger.

Suddenly there was slow ballad being played on the television.

Arthur smirked and held out a hand to Aria.

The teenager gave him a confused look.

“Come on, Aria,” Arthur beckoned, his devilish smile plastering his face.

Aria took his hand and he pulled her up and he placed his arm around her waist and Aria instantly knew what he wanted to do. She followed suit.

The duo were dancing silently to the tempo of the slow ballad being played on the television. Aria knew that deep down, Arthur’s mood switched easily like a light switch. He was initially worried but all of a sudden, he wanted to dance with her. It was confusing for Aria at first but after knowing him for almost a month, she began to understand more about him and also to accept the fact that he was the way as he was.

_At least she does not freak out when I ask her for a dance,_ Arthur thought, his mood elevating slightly.

Arthur leaned forward and rested his chin on Aria’s shoulder.

He whispered, “It’s crazy out there, isn’t it?”

Aria replied, “It is.”

The duo continued dancing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be uploaded tomorrow. :D


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to inform that this is the second last chapter of this fanfiction. My ideas are limited for this story.

It was a hot afternoon and Arthur was smoking cigarettes in the living room. There was a voicemail notification, causing Arthur to walk over to the telephone.

Arthur immediately dialed the number and it was a woman who picked up the phone after it rang a few times.

Apparently, there was an unexpected popularity among the audience due to his footage being shown on the Murray Franklin Show. Arthur accepted the invitation to join the show.

Feeling excited, Arthur decided to rehearse a couple of times, pretending that he was already part of the show. He replayed the taped video of a previous episode a couple of times until he got the entrance right. He could feel himself evolve into something that he never felt before as he laughed while rehearsing.

When the day came, Aria was hanging around Arthur’s apartment when he was preparing for his appearance in the show.

“Hey Arthur, I’m so happy for you!” Aria said with full of delight as she sat next to him at the dresser.

“You have no idea how excited I am,” Arthur said, knowing that his surprise for Aria would shock her later.

“You’re going to ace it,” Aria said.

However, she had a very unpleasant feeling in her stomach. She was happy for Arthur but she felt like something was not right about the situation.

The teenager remained silent after that.

“Are you alright?” Arthur asked, realising that she had gone silent.

He painted his tongue white.

“I’m all good. Just happy for you,” she lied as she smiled.

Arthur nodded as he continued with his face paint.

Aria walked away, heading toward the kitchen.

“I’m going to get some milk, okay?” she said.

“Alright!” Arthur replied.

As Aria was pouring milk into a glass, there was a loud knock on the door. Arthur kept silent at the dresser. Aria drank the milk and left the glass on the table.

She crept over to the door and looked at the peephole.

There were two men at the door.

“Arthur, it’s us!” the voice said.

Aria took a step back.

Arthur got up from the dresser and walked to the door and had a look at the peephole. They were his two ex-colleagues, Gary and Randall.

“Who are they?” Aria whispered but Arthur ignored her.

Arthur unlatched the door and allowed the two men in, then immediately locked the door.

“How are you?” the dwarf, Gary asked.

Arthur replied, “Alright, I suppose?”

Randall noticed Aria.

He gave her a perverted stare.

Without thinking too much of the consequences, Randall said, “Looks like you found yourself a cute girl to accompany you.”

Arthur snapped at Randall, “You stay away from her!”

Aria backed away.

Randall put his hands up and said, “Sorry, my bad. We’re here because two guys showed up at work today and asked about you.”

Gary asked, “Is everything alright, Arthur? We’re worried about you.”

Aria walked back to the kitchen to retrieve her glass of milk before heading back to the living room to sit on the couch.

The three men were talking about their work when suddenly, the taller guy, Randall, said something to trigger Arthur.

Aria observed the three of them.

Arthur had had enough of Randall and with a blink of an eye, he pulled out the same pistol and shot Randall to death.

Simultaneously, Gary and Aria’s jaws dropped.

“Why did you do that, Arthur? Why?” Gary said with full of fear.

Arthur leaned back against the wall and slumped down.

Aria walked over to the two men.

“Arthur, why?” she said as she kneeled down next to Arthur.

“You could have talked it out,” she said, her voice quavering.

Gary was still shocked.

“I’m going to make my way back home,” Gary said cautiously, as he walked over to the front door.

As he reached the door, Gary realised that he was too short to unlatch the door.

“Gary, you’ve been very nice to me. I appreciate that,” Arthur said.

Aria understood Gary’s situation and she decided to escort him out.

“Arthur, I’m going to escort Gary back. I’ll meet you directly at the studio. You have my word,” Aria said as she cautiously made her way to Gary.

The man, who was covered in blood due to the gunshot, walked over to the door.

“Thank you for being nice to me,” Arthur said as he kissed the top of Gary’s head.

As Aria was about to walk out of the door, Arthur grabbed ahold of her wrist.

“I’ll meet you at the studio, alright?” Arthur said, his green eyes piercing Aria with slight anger.

Aria reached out with her hand to touch the side of Arthur’s face, causing Arthur to stir a bit due to her unexpected reaction. He felt comfort feeling the palm of her hand. Her hand was not as soft as most women’s but to Arthur, it made him feel comfortable and needed.

The teenager looked into Arthur’s hollow green eyes. Those eyes reminded her of her brother’s eyes months prior to his death. Aria missed her elder brother and for some reason, Arthur’s recent presence in her life made her feel like she might have found a replacement for her beloved brother whom she obviously cannot revive from the grave.

Arthur leaned in closer, causing slight discomfort for Aria because their faces were just centimeters apart.

“I know I can count on you, Aria,” Arthur said in a deeper tone, expressing hope and sadness.

Aria could tell that Arthur was afraid if Aria would bail and not show up at all for his appearance.

Unexpectedly, Arthur leaned closer and pecked on Aria’s lips, causing Aria to be startled.

_What the fuck?_ Aria thought, feeling uneasy.

Arthur’s lips sucked a bit of Aria’s upper lips, wanting to savour the taste and texture of her lips. He wanted to part her lips and let his tongue in, but he thought that it would be too much.

Quickly, Arthur pulled away and said, “I’m sorry, Aria. I shouldn’t have done that.”

This time, it was Aria’s turn to grab ahold of Arthur’s wrist.

“I’m alright, Arthur. You should get dressed. I’ll see you later. You have my word,” Aria said, staring straight at Arthur’s eyes, despite feeling slightly awkward.

Arthur nodded.

She let go of Arthur’s wrist and joined Gary, who was halfway down the hallway.

_The taste of white face paint, the taste of his lips_, Aria thought, feeling awkward as her cheeks flushed pink.

Aria was tempted to turn back to look at Arthur but she decided to not do so.

Deep in Aria’s heart, she had a feeling that Arthur liked her more than a friend but she felt differently about him.

The kiss. The taste of his lips on hers. It was unexpected. She had not been kissed for a long time and this was not what she had in mind to obtain another kiss. Not from a man who was twice her age. Especially from a murderer. From a man by the name of Arthur Fleck.

Aria reached the elevator with Gary and together, they entered, the door closing behind them shortly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter will be uploaded tomorrow.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter of this fanfiction. It's already October 31st at where I am, so, Happy Halloween to you guys!

Arthur watched the two figures walking toward the elevator, then he closed the door and locked it.

Without wasting anymore time, he washed the blood off of himself, redid his makeup, donned in a maroon suit and he was off to the Murray Franklin Show.

As Arthur went down the outdoor stairs on the streets, he had lit up another cigarette as he danced on the stairs, oblivious to his surroundings. It felt surreal that he was invited to join the Murray Franklin Show. He had a plan and he had a message for all those who were about to witness the show. At the back of his mind, he knew that Aria would not approve of his plan because it would shock her again but his gut feelings told him that she would get used to it.

Arthur recalled the quick kiss he gave to Aria. He knew that Aria probably liked him as a friend or a brother, based on the way she treated him. He knew that she would never fall in love with him or perhaps he could convince her? He wanted affection from others and he wanted to give his but it was disastrous. Prior to Aria, he had a crush on Sophie but she rejected him. It was not verbal but based on how she had been avoiding him, he knew too well that she was not into him.

And as of Aria, it was a coincidence. He was still surprised that she stood up to him when he was mocked and taunted by the three businessmen on the train. He liked how she was courageous and that made him feel like a normal human but however, the mental damage in his mind was far too great to be reversed. He knew that it was difficult to fix him. He knew that he was too far into the deeper side of himself. As time passed, he liked how Aria was honest about her life as he shared stories of his life. He grew comfortable around Aria but he was still skeptical about her just because he knew her for a short duration of time. But nevertheless, he liked how Aria tried her best to fight through everything and he thought that she was beautiful despite being emotionally broken. Whenever Aria giggled at Arthur’s jokes, he loved seeing her smile, knowing that there was someone who did appreciate him.

The man focused back on the kiss. It had been awhile he kissed another woman, who was only seventeen and just graduated high school months ago. It never crossed his mind to even think about taking her out on a date but for some reason, kissing Aria was a spontaneous act and he liked the taste of her dark lipstick. At least he could taste the lips of a teenager, which reminded him of his high school days. And he admired her beauty. He knew that Aria had the option to turn her back on him by reporting him to the police but she stood by his side. That was what made him happy, knowing that a beautifully broken girl stood by him.

Back to reality, Arthur was smoking while dancing on the stairs, being as happy as he could, knowing that he was excited to shock the audience later.

However, little did he know that the same two detectives were watching him from afar, noting his movement and wanting to talk to him.

“Arthur!” one of them called out.

The man stopped dancing and turned around.

The two detectives were staring at him.

_Shit_, he thought and he quickly ran down the stairs.

Arthur ran as fast as he could, hoping that he could get away from the two detectives. He ran past blocks of buildings, heading toward the metro station. Running across the road, he got knocked over by a taxi but he managed to get up and ran toward the train station and board a random train. However, the two detectives were quick enough to board the same train as his.

As Arthur tried to get away from the two detectives, he managed to create chaos in one of the train cabins, feeling a rush of high flowing through his body as he put on a clown mask, wanting to blend in with the clown mask-wearing crowd. He smiled underneath the mask, knowing that he managed to get away and that he was getting excited seeing the chaos.

Without wasting any moment, he got off immediately the next station and decided to use another route to reach the studio.

An hour later and he was in the dressing room, smoking a cigarette while he waited for his turn to get on stage. He was calm on the exterior but excited on the interior, wanting to go for the shock value.

Murray and another man, Gene, entered Arthur’s dressing room.

“Hey Arthur, thank you for joining us,” Murray said with a grin on his face.

“Thank you for the invitation,” Arthur said, calmly.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for him to get on tv like that! Not with the recent riot where everyone’s having the clown mask!” Gene exclaimed, concerned about the audience’s perception.

“Calm down, Gene. I suppose it’s for his act,” said Murray, trying to calm the situation.

“Exactly, it’s all a part of my act,” said Arthur.

“Alright,” said Murray, before proceeding to the terms and conditions of the show.

“One more thing Murray,” Arthur said as the two men were about to exit the dressing room.

“What is it?” Murray asked.

“I want you to introduce me as ‘Joker’,” Arthur said with a grin.

Murray and Gene looked at each other.

“Well, whatever you say,” Murray said and the two men left.

Meanwhile in the audience, Aria managed to find a seat that was in the middle, being not too close to the stage but not too far back. She was supposed to feel happy but however, she felt anxiety creeping into her thoughts. She felt as if something negative was going to happen.

It annoyed Aria because she was trying to be positive for Arthur but she could not ignore her gut feelings.

_Something’s not right. I hope Arthur’s fine_, she thought.

Aria tried to pay attention when the show started but she could not stop thinking about Arthur. A feeling was telling her that he was in some sort of trouble.

And when it was Arthur’s turn, he made a dramatic entrance with such unusual movements and by kissing the older woman, who was a guest of the show.

Aria’s eyes widened at his shocking act.

She could not be bothered of the fact that he was free to kiss anyone on the lips but it shocked her that he was nonchalant about it to kiss an old woman on the lips on live national television in that manner!

_I guess that he’s really like this when he’s off his meds?_ Aria thought.

As of Arthur, he knew that Aria would be uncomfortable seeing him kissing an old lady in this manner after they shared a kiss earlier the day. He wanted to give the audience shock value and this was a spontaneous one.

Arthur sat on the chair next to Murray’s table and they had a talk. Without wasting anymore time, he got on to his first joke, which was considered inappropriate, leading to a remark from the old lady on the couch next to him.

Aria looked at Arthur with a neutral expression and he looked back at her with a little grin.

Without warning, Arthur confessed that he killed the three businessmen on the train, causing Aria to have slight tremours and palpitations. Images of the three dead businessmen crept inside her mind, recalling how Arthur shot them all dead. The audience went silent for a moment, before a few gasps were heard.

If Aria had her way, she would read Arthur’s mind, sending him a telekinetic message to tell him to stop blabbering about that incident.

Then, Arthur started ranting about his mental illness, which made Aria feel sad for him. Murray responded back to his statement, which made Arthur irritated and in a blink of an eye, Arthur fished out his pistol and shot Murray to death.

“Fuck!” Aria muttered under her breath.

Her heart was racing because he just revealed his identity on live national television.

The audience screamed and they immediately ran out of their seats, fearing for their lives.

However, Aria remained seated, unsure of how to react.

Arthur shot Murray again, then stood up and walked over to one of the cameras.

Nonchalantly, he said to the camera, “And that’s life!”

He walked away and started laughing hysterically as more people rushed out of the studio.

He looked around and spotted Aria, who still remained seated.

The man rushed up to Aria and said, “Come on, baby. This is life. Let loose and have fun.”

He continued laughing hysterically.

Aria was speechless.

Arthur grabbed Aria by the wrist, yanked her up and said, “Let’s have some fun, baby!”

The duo rushed out of the studio and ran down the streets, not caring about the chaos around them.

As they ran down the streets, Arthur was holding Aria’s hand, enjoying her grip around his. He missed the feeling of holding a woman by the hand, he missed the warmth of it.

Aria knew that Arthur had already descended to madness from the way he made his entrance at the show and how he nonchalantly shot Murray live on national television prior to this.

However, they were stopped halfway by cops, who pinned Arthur to the ground, pushing Aria away from Arthur, ignoring her until she fell to the ground. Aria was rooted to the ground, uncertain of how to react. She would love to rescue Arthur but at the same time, she was afraid of going to prison for being his accomplice.

Tears rolled down Aria’s eyes, knowing that she was unable to help this poor man out of his misery, who was a poor misunderstood soul.

As the cops escorted Arthur to the car, Arthur turned around and called out to Aria, “Baby girl!” with a devilish grin.

“Shut up and get in the car!” one of the cops snapped at him and they entered the car.

The police car drove off, leaving Aria behind.

However, Aria got off and jogged a bit, wanting to look at Arthur for the last time before he was sent off to the asylum.

As if fated to be together, one of Arthur’s supporters, who was driving an ambulance from the other side of the crossroad, deliberately rammed hard into the police car, killing the police officers but sparing Arthur.

Aria watched the scene in horror as more tears flooded her face.

“Arthur,” she muttered under her breath as she mustered her strength and ran as fast as she could to the crashed police car.

She was out of breath when she finally reached the accident scene.

Two rioters in clown masks grabbed Arthur’s body from the broken side window, pulling his body out and placing his unconscious body on a random taxi.

“Arthur!” Aria yelled as she went over to him.

“You know this guy?” one of them asked.

Aria nodded.

“He’s my friend.”

The two rioters watched Aria as she hugged Arthur, hoping that he would only be unconscious for a short tempo.

The man woke up and noticed that Aria had her head on his chest, crying.

“I’m alright, Aria,” Arthur said as he watched the girl sobbing on his chest.

“Arthur! Oh my god I thought I was never going to see you again!” Aria said as she got up from his chest.

Arthur motioned to the two rioters.

“Can we have a moment for awhile?”

The two rioters nodded their heads and gave them some space.

“Arthur, I’m sorry, I didn’t know how to stop them from taking you away. I didn’t want to cause more trouble,” Aria said as more tears trickled down her cheeks, ruining her makeup.

Arthur laughed hysterically for a few seconds.

He placed a hand on Aria’s cheek, stroking it gently.

“I knew that you will abandon me and I still don’t trust you, Aria. We met coincidentally but how funny that you’d be here with me now.”

Aria replied, “You’re my friend, Arthur. I lost everyone in my life. You’re like a brother to me, Arthur. I see parts of my brother in you. I was planning to visit you wherever they would take you, Arthur. But just now, I was scared, confused. I didn’t know what to do. I’m sorry I failed you, Arthur. I failed you as a friend.”

Arthur grinned, knowing that Aria had genuine feelings for him, even though she only regarded him as a friend and as a brother.

“Do you know why I kissed you?” Arthur said as he got up.

Aria shook her head, roughly knowing his answer but pretended to play dumb.

“I was afraid that I might not see you again,” he said as he placed both of his hands on her cheeks, cupping them. 

“I wanted to know the taste of your pretty lips before I lose you.”

Aria smiled as Arthur wiped a few of her tears with his thumbs.

She knew that Arthur was developing a crush on her but she felt differently about him. She hoped that Arthur would accept that she had given up on catching feelings for anyone after being betrayed countless times in her life.

“I’m sorry that I abandoned you just now, Arthur,” Aria said as she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

Meanwhile, other rioters were crowding the duo. Aria immediately let go of Arthur. She knew that Arthur’s actions caused a chain reaction in Gotham City, gaining himself supporters of his act of murdering the three businessmen working in Wayne Industries.

Arthur stood up from the taxi and looked around. He was pleased with the outcome. He saw chaos surrounding them and he grinned, laughing hysterically before breaking into a mini dance as how he did on the stairs earlier the day.

The crowd was cheering for Arthur.

Aria looked around, noticing that the crowd was supporting his act and she had mixed feelings about the whole ordeal.

Arthur gazed at Aria, who caught his gaze. She gave him a weak smile.

The man and the teenager had more to face in the future and they only had each other to rely on, hoping for the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that my ideas are limited and I have to end it here. I really like putting Aria and Arthur together but this is how it's supposed to end, when I was writing it. However, I have already started on Arthur Fleck/Harley Quinn fanfictions. Stay tuned for those!


End file.
